This Just In: The (Un)Common Good by Jim Wallis

by Jim Wallis

Jim Wallis thinks our life together can be better. In this timely and provocative book, he shows us how to reclaim Jesus’s ancient and compelling vision of the common good—a vision that impacts and inspires not only our politics but also our personal lives, families, churches, neighborhoods, and world.

Now available in paperback with a new preface.

Jim Wallis is president and founder of Sojourners and editor in chief of Sojourners magazine. He is a bestselling author, public theologian, national preacher, social activist, and international commentator on ethics and public life. Wallis has written ten books, including the New York Times bestsellers God’s Politics and The Great Awakening, and is a frequent speaker in the United States and abroad.

“Personal/political, religion/politics, faith/power, ideology/pragmatism . . . Jim Wallis is a wrestler of values, ideas, and policies and how they interact to shape the world we live in. His deep, melodious voice is easy to listen to, but what he says takes a harder commitment to live by.”
—Bono, lead singer of U2; cofounder of ONE.org

“Wallis persuades more powerfully here than ever before. . . . He lays out the theology of [Jesus’s gospel of the kingdom] and then issues to all Christians a rallying cry to apply that theology both in private life and in the arena of public activity.”
—Phyllis Tickle, author of Emergence Christianity

“Jim Wallis has long been an influential voice on Christian ethics and public life. . . . A fresh take on the interplay of faith and politics in America.”
—Relevant

“Jim Wallis and I have a variety of differences on domestic and international policy, but there is no message more timely or urgent than his call to actively consider the common good.”
—Michael Gerson, op-ed columnist, The Washington Post

“I love the work and books and existence of Jim Wallis. His is a profound and always-entertaining voice of reason, reconciliation, and passion for social justice and peace. Each of his books makes me wish I could get it into the hands of more politicians, right-wing Christians, left-wing Christians, secular humanists, economists, and regular people—everyone—so we could see how much we have in common and how much is at stake. Jim Wallis and I do not share many of the same political views, but we share the same heart and soul and love for God and all of God’s children. Plus, he’s a marvelous storyteller.”
—Anne Lamott, author of Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers

“I have read all of Jim Wallis’s books, books that call evangelicals to full conversion and an ecclesial faith that works. This is Jim’s best book; it is personal, pastoral, and prophetic—a summons to a deeper conversion, to bridge-building commitments to the common good, and to a family life that grounds active faith in a common, caring community.”
—Scot McKnight, professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary

“For decades, Jim Wallis has been an instrumental voice in God’s movement toward a better world. Here’s his latest gift to the movement—a book that isn’t just about where we went wrong, but about how we can join God in making things right again. And, thank God, it’s not just another book about God blessing us . . . it’s a book about us blessing God, by caring for God’s people, especially the most vulnerable ones among us.”
—Shane Claiborne, author, activist, and recovering sinner, www.thesimpleway.org

“Jim Wallis’s voice rings out on each page of this book, calling for a renewed global engagement in which the measure of ‘success’ is the well-being of all. Following his prescriptions would result in approaching the true common good: good news for the 100 percent!”
—Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, executive director of the Roman Catholic social justice organization NETWORK

“No one cuts through the confusion of our times with clarity and compassion like Jim Wallis. He is at his best in this book—bridging a cosmic vision of what humankind could be with a concrete plan for how we get there.”
—Eboo Patel, founder and president, Interfaith Youth Core; author of Sacred Ground

“Let me be honest: I don’t believe in ‘must-read’ books. But The (Un)Common Good is a very important book, especially in a time of increased polarization and lack of civility. As a pastor, I thank Jim Wallis for writing this book because it will be a vital resource for many—especially for the church, as we seek to invite, empower, and equip people for the work of the common good. In an increasingly cynical world, this is a fresh and hopeful word.”
—Rev. Eugene Cho, senior pastor, Quest Church; founder and visionary, One Day’s Wages

“The Christian faith requires more than mere belief. It is a faith intended to change the world because it demands that Christians work with passion for the good of their neighbors. This is the good news of the kingdom of God that Jesus first proclaimed in Luke 4, and it’s a message that Jim Wallis helps us better understand today.”
—Richard Stearns, president, World Vision US; author of The Hole in Our Gospel

“At such a critical crossroads in our country’s history, people are looking for commonsense voices on the right and left who are willing to ask difficult questions. Jim Wallis is one of those voices—winsome and reflective, yet forceful and unafraid. In this book, Wallis again challenges Christians to think deeply about our world’s greatest problems. You might not always agree with his conclusions, but every chapter of the book will stretch your mind, challenge your thinking, and push you to consider the hope summed up in its opening words: ‘Our life together can be better.’”
—Jonathan Merritt, author of A Faith of Our Own: Following Jesus beyond the Culture Wars